THE PALLILOG
Here's some hardware that could be coming Astros way
Nov 2, 2023, 6:45 pm
The Gold Glove Award winners are named Sunday. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
As if the Astros weren't already incentivized to improve their team that fell from a sensational World Series champion in 2022 to the American League runner-up in 2023. Now they look within their division and within their state to see the new champ. Only the Astros pushed the Texas Rangers to the brink of elimination in this year's postseason. The Rangers responded by smashing the Astros to bits in games six and seven at Minute Maid Park to win the AL Championship Series, as prelude to rolling over the Arizona Diamondbacks to give Arlington its first big league title. The Rangers finished the playoffs 11-0 on the road. Incredible. The Rangers wrapping it up in Phoenix means that over the last 10 World Series, the '22 Astros are the only team to set off its celebration by winning the clincher at home.
With the season ending Wednesday night, free agent signings can begin Monday. Unlike in the NFL and NBA when free agency begins every year, MLB does not see an immediate volcanic eruption of megadollar moves. In the unlikely event the Astros hope to make an early splash signing, it's good that few free agents pick their teams based on who the manager is. Since the Astros don't presently have one. Whatever the true extent of his involvement in hiring the new manager, on the player personnel side Dana Brown runs his first offseason as General Manager. Brown had nothing to do with the signing of Jose Abreu or the re-signings of Rafael Montero and Michael Brantley. Abreu picked it up dramatically late in the season but overall had a poor season. Any plan that has the now 37 years old Abreu starting 134 games again in 2024, is a bad plan. Like Abreu, Montero has two seasons left on his contract. Like Abreu, Montero was largely terrible this year. Abreu makes 19 and a half million dollars per season, Montero 11 and a half per. Ouch. At least Brantley's 12 million bucks are off the books.
No games until spring training also means MLB awards season is upon us. The Astros have no serious candidate to win Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, or Rookie of the Year hardware this year. Had Yainer Diaz gotten more playing time…
The Gold Glove Award winners are named Sunday. Either defense among American League second basemen was collectively very weak this season, or it's silly that Mauricio Dubon is one of three AL finalists at second base after starting just 66 games there this season. Dubon did a stellar job filling in for Jose Altuve but 66 out of 162 games is not a Gold Glove-worthy workload. Cleveland's Andres Gimenez should win for the second year in a row. Texas's Marcus Semien is the third candidate. If Dubon wins he'd join in the GG club the guy whose injury made it possible. Altuve won in 2015. Craig Biggio won four years in a row during his 1990s heyday ('94-'97).
Dubon is rightfully a finalist for the “Utility” position. He should win that for doing strong work both at second and in center field. The most absurd Gold Glove ever awarded went to Rafael Palmeiro. The juicer was a fine first baseman who reasonably won in 1997 and '98. He made it three in a row in '99, after playing only 28 games at first!
Alex Bregman is a third time finalist at third base. Toronto's Matt Chapman should win for a fourth time. Doug Rader is the only Astros hot corner guy to win a Gold Glove. “The Red Rooster” won five straight years in the '70s ('73-'77). Ken Caminiti played fabulous defense for several seasons with the Astros but didn't win until he became a vastly improved hitter after joining the San Diego Padres. A player's hitting of course should be a zero factor in consideration, but some voting is plain stupid. The voting portion of Gold Glove selection is done by managers and coaches and counts for 75 percent. A few years ago an analytics component was added, it is given 25 percent weight.
On the subject of questionable voting…
Jeremy Peña won as a rookie shortstop last year. This year Peña played more games and committed fewer errors and certainly displayed no discernible drop off in range. He's not a finalist in 2023. Peña's overall lack of progress offensively probably foolishly factored in somehow. I'm not saying Peña should definitely have won again, but there is no way that hobbled Carlos Correa played a better shortstop this year. Correa had a bad offensive season too! But he's a finalist with Yankees' rookie Anthony Volpe and the Rangers' Corey Seager.
The great Cesar Cedeño largely overlapped Rader while also winning five Gold Gloves in a row in the '70s ('72-'76). In Cedeño's day three outfielders were picked irrespective of outfield position played. In 2011 it shifted to one left, one center, one right. Kyle Tucker won in right last year and is a finalist again this. All the metrics have Tucker's defense down this year. Boston's Alex Verdugo and the Rangers' Adolis Garcia are more deserving.
Do you want to hear more about the Astros offseason outlook?
Stone Cold ‘Stros is the weekly Astro-centric podcast I am part of alongside Brandon Strange and Josh Jordan. On our regular schedule a first video segment goes up at 4PM Monday on the SportsMapHouston YouTube channel, with the complete audio available in podcast form at outlets such as:
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Yusei Kikuchi pitched seven innings of three-hit ball in another sharp start, and Yordan Alvarez homered and drove in two runs in the Houston Astros ' 5,000th victory, 5-3 over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
Alex Bregman hit an early two-run homer and Alvarez added his 33rd in the ninth inning for the first-place Astros, who opened a six-game Southern California trip with their second straight win after a three-game skid.
Mickey Moniak homered for the Angels, who have lost five of six.
Kikuchi (9-9) overcame early trouble and struck out six Angels while keeping the Astros unbeaten in all of his starts since joining Houston in a trade with Toronto. Kikuchi is 5-0 in an Astros uniform, and Houston is 8-0 when he takes the mound.
Josh Hader pitched the ninth for his 30th save as the Astros became the 18th big league club to reach 5,000 victories.
Rookie Samuel Aldegheri (1-2) couldn’t get out of the third inning in his third major league start for the Angels, yielding four runs on six hits and five walks while recording only six outs.
Houston scored twice in the second with two singles followed by two walks and Alvarez's sacrifice fly.
The Astros then got three hits on Aldegheri's first three pitches in the third inning. After Kyle Tucker singled, Bregman hit his 23rd homer and Jeremy Peña doubled.
Kikuchi issued back-to-back walks to begin the third, and Los Angeles scored on Zach Neto's groundout and Nolan Schanuel's single.
Moniak's solo shot to right in the fourth was just his second career homer against a left-hander. It was also the former No. 1 overall pick's 14th homer of the season, matching his career high.
Alvarez's homer was a line drive that went in and out of Moniak's glove when the center fielder leaped at the wall to attempt what would have been a spectacular catch.
Hader recorded 30 saves for the fourth consecutive season and the fifth time in his career.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: INF Jose Altuve returned from a one-game absence with discomfort in his right side. He drove the first pitch of the game into left field, but was easily thrown out at second while trying to stretch it into a double.
Angels: 2B Brandon Drury sat out after leaving Wednesday's game in the fifth inning with hamstring tightness. ... RHP Ben Joyce is still awaiting the results of his MRI exam Thursday. The 105-mph hurler hasn't pitched since Sept. 6 after reporting shoulder discomfort.
UP NEXT
Justin Verlander (3-6, 5.30 ERA) takes the mound for Houston after struggling in his past two starts in September. Los Angeles sends out All-Star Tyler Anderson (10-12, 3.50 ERA), who beat the Astros earlier this year for his only victory in nine career starts against them.